


Janus

by lilithtorch2



Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Animated Series, Dark Knight (2008)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Harvey Dent lives, Multiple Personalities, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2018-01-02 00:57:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithtorch2/pseuds/lilithtorch2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Character study of Harvey Dent and Two-Face. "As long as the tenuous arrangement between them remained unbroken, neither Harvey Dent nor Two-Face could act outside their jurisdiction and the coin would forever be their order in a world filled with chaos."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Janus

**Author's Note:**

> It's mostly based on The Dark Knight film but I’ve taken some liberties with the plotline. I assume that Harvey Dent developed a split personality right after he learned that his fiancée died and that the Two-Face persona took over right after he met the Joker. I also assume that they didn’t use the coin until after the events with Commissioner Gordon and his family. This piece was inspired from observing how people in real life can just switch between completely different personas depending on who they talk to and when.

Neither Harvey Dent nor Two-Face could quite recall how they came to be together. Harvey happily remembered the day he was born; Two-Face didn't care. Harvey insisted that he was the White Knight; Two-Face would only laugh every time he heard this, assuming it was a sick joke. But who had been the catalyst for their unholy existence? They both knew that the death of a woman they had both been betrothed to started them on this path of revenge, but who caused her demise in the first place? Harvey was not sure; he couldn't decide if it was the mafia network, the commissioner with the brown moustache and the serious glasses, or the cross-dressing, green-haired crazy person who enjoyed telling people about his scar. But Two-Face grew weary of hearing his companion think and took over, picking the answer himself.

So while Harvey Dent remained unconscious, Two-Face went on his murderous rampage, killing everyone responsible for the woman's death. He began with the mafia, infiltrating the limousine of a man named Salvatore Maroni. Maroni was a smug jerk who claimed he loved his wife and children, but Two-Face knew better. This guy thought he could get away with anything. Not this time. He counted on Maroni ratting out the driver who was supposed to protect their lover in the name of self-preservation, and sure enough he did. The name was Anna Ramirez, a Gotham City Police Officer. Upon hearing this, Two-Face became convinced that all of Gotham City Police was corrupted, and he needed to nip the monster at the head: the commissioner. So he used Ramirez to lure the commissioner and his family to 2552nd street, where their fiancée had died, and prepared for his final act. What he did not count on was the appearance of the Bat, a tall, dark creature with a shadowy voice.

Two-Face searched through the sleeping Harvey Dent's memories and learned that this Bat was once Harvey's comrade. He accepted that as fact but believed that the Bat did not understand Harvey the way he did. Harvey's feelings had been hurt and clearly, Commissioner Gordon, in failing to rescue their love, was ultimately to blame. The man needed to know what it was like to lose someone you loved. He needed to know what it felt like to lie to a loved one and tell them that everything would be alright. An eye for an eye. But Two-Face realized too late that he had underestimated the Bat, and was knocked downward into the pit of defeat.

After the fall, Harvey Dent was shaken awake and screamed at Two-Face. What happened? What did you do to us? Two-Face would impatiently explain that he did it for them, for their survival. Revenge was a dish best served boiling hot with the blood of their traitors, he insisted, but his twin did not agree. Fine, then, Harvey, he said, how do you propose we move forward? It was here that Harvey suggested an objective third party, and procured an item from his pockets. They both examined it carefully.

The object was a small inconsequential thing, a coin that was silver and burnt on one side. For Harvey, it was once a symbol of luck, a way to build his confidence and win cases. For Two-Face, it was a peace offering and a compromise he accepted. With this token, Harvey and Two-Face made a deal: this coin was the thing upon which all of justice would hang in the balance. They would set aside their personal opinions and follow its advice unconditionally, and they would never need to argue. They agreed on the procedures. One of them, it didn't matter who, would ask the question first: to kill or not to kill? Then they would flip the coin high into the air, and guess where it would land: heads or tails? This would decide the fate of their potential sacrifice. If the coin landed on heads, then Harvey would dictate how their actions would go, but if the coin ever landed on tails, then Two-Face would be free to kill. As long as the tenuous arrangement between them remained unbroken, neither Harvey Dent nor Two-Face could act outside their jurisdiction and the coin would forever be their order in a world filled with chaos.


End file.
